These funds were appropriated from the 2026 state budget and are set to be used to support local food processing, aggregation, and distribution. These grants will be available for collaborative projects ranging from $1,000 to $250,000 and for individual projects from $1,000 to $75,000.

“With food prices rising across Illinois, investing in local food infrastructure is no longer optional; it’s essential,” said State Representative Sonya Harper (D-Chicago), Chair of the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee. “We created this program to strengthen our farmers, shorten the supply chain and ensure Illinois families can access affordable, locally grown food. I’ve spent my career fighting to move our state from food deserts and fragile systems toward real, durable solutions, and this investment helps put that vision into action.”

Any Illinois resident who stores, processes, packages, aggregates, or distributes value-added agricultural products or plans to do so is eligible for the grant as long as they meet certain criteria. That criterion is listed as:

An Illinois farm with fewer than 50 employees

An Illinois cooperative with fewer than 50 employees

An Illinois slaughter and/or processing facility with fewer than 50 employees. Slaughter and/or processing facilities must be USDA or state-licensed or be a custom-exempt slaughter and/or processing facility

An Illinois food business with fewer than 50 employees

An Illinois food hub with fewer than 50 employees

An Illinois nonprofit organization

A unit of local government in Illinois

All grant funding must be used for purchasing, leasing to own, renting, building, or installing infrastructure related to processing, storage, aggregation, or distribution of value-added agricultural products. This is being done to encourage further expansion of the local food industry.

Source - https://www.yahoo.com